Potato Chip Rock Hiking

Potato Chip Rock seems like the most popular hike in San Diego County. Everyone talks about it. Posts pictures about it. All the hype really made me curious to see Potato Chip Rock for myself.

That flat sliver of a rock is Potato Chip Rock. 6 mile roundtrip for that. I thought I might understand after seeing firsthand but not so much.

The views are pretty cool. Mountains, oceans, lakes. Not bad. 

The incline is killer on the flexors. One of the most challenging climbs we've done.

Lots of little paths to climb off the main trail. Always a big hit with the kids.

The beginning of the hike when everyone is still smiling.

The higher you get the bigger the rocks.

Which is fine by this kid!

There are a couple well hidden secrets. First, nobody tells you about the multiple cell phone towers at the top. It's not very serene...at all. The towers kind of ruined it for us. And the line of 50 people waiting to take their picture on the rock sliver. And that the trail is really just a utility road for the cell tower people. Not really a nature hike by any means :(

Sandia Creek Trail Hike

Our latest hike-from Fallbrook-Sandia Creek Trail. Fallbrook isn't the most interesting place to hike but it's local and there are many scenery options. Sandia Creek had a lot of water which is always nice to stumble upon on a hike. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Making B Your A

One of my most favorite things about military life is the chance to see the world. Many many years ago when I was a naive gal freshly transplanted from small town Iowa to big city California, I thought we would spend our life moving. Knowing my life would be full of adventures and three year stints in every region of the country made me excited! I couldn't wait until our three years was up and we would be off to the East Coast.

True to military life, this young spouse found out pretty quickly the lifestyle is full of surprises. Murphy's Law of Military Spouse Expectations... if you want A then you get B. My A was moving every three years and my B was his career spent at Camp Pendleton, California.

Almost 15 years spent on one base. 11 years with the same squadron. Luckily our one other duty station was Japan which pretty much trumps New River any day. Things could be worse, I guess. We could be in 29 Palms! Joking aside, our immobility just wasn't what I imagined for military life. We never really thought California was the right fit for us. We still don't. But we quit fighting against the Plan. We are suppose to be here. At this point, we are so far into his career it wouldn't make sense to try to leave. Of course, the Marine Corps always  decides. Any day my husband could receive orders anywhere in the entire world, accompanied or unaccompanied. We pray that won't be the story.

How do you make the most of military life? You start with buying a house. Second, get a great job. Last, send your kids to a ginormous off-base school with a bigger student body than your hometown elementary, junior high, and high school combined. You lay down roots so when it's time to leave, you won't. Slow down. I don't honestly know if I recommend any of those things. What I do recommend is embracing whatever the military throws your way. You cannot control anything about this lifestyle, you just have to roll with it.

Most people who know me would probably guess I like living in California. People might even assume I prefer to live in this state. The honest answer is I don't. There are things I like. The weather. The location. The openness to differences among people. Other things. It's not my perfect but  I am going to embrace California. I am going to see everything I want to see. I'm going to sit on the beach watching the waves roll in on a Friday night. Just because. I'm going to hike the mountains. Tour LA like I lived here my whole life.  I'm going to enjoy these moments.

When his four years are finished, we will move on to a better fit. Perhaps, take some time to see the country since the Marine Corps didn't want to foot the bill. I imagine we will settle some place less polluted, less populated, and less developed. Do those places still exist? Any time I get lonesome for California, I will pull out my albums filled with pictures of our adventures. Get my little Marine Corps/ Cali fix and go back to breathing fresh air in small town America.

However, until the retirement ceremony we are going to keep checking off the Camp Pendleton Bucket List. The little things, big things, and even the repeats on the favorites all are getting checked off. Ehm...Disney. I think the best thing a military family can do is embrace the B, even when they really wanted the A. Just go with it and pretend it was your plan all along.

Rock Mountain Preserve Trailhead

The plan was to have a relaxing weekend. It may not have been relaxing in the sense of curling up on the couch with my book and hanging out in my yoga pants but I still enjoyed myself. And I felt pretty good starting this work week. In fact, I text my husband today saying I had fun this weekend.  Of course, there was a shopping trip (the first in the new year) that he gets no credit for. But the hike was all his planning. 

I always get a little nervous when my husband picks out the trails. He loves the path less traveled. I always get a little anxious when he announces we are hiking a new trail. Which is a surprise until we pull up and the sign looks like the above. Maybe there is one beat up car parked in the lot. I admit, I say a little prayer it's not a mass murderer. The thoughts cross my mind. 

Sometimes, I think the husband would much rather make is own trail than hike a pre-existing one. Which is kind of fun to consider and freaky all at the same time. But he gets us very close to no trails. From now on when you see a post with this rugged terrain, you will know who picked it.

It was a fairly short hike. A third mile up the hill or half mile down to the creek. Either direction the trail was steep and rocky.  Fallbrook is all steep and rocky. 

The view half way up the trail. Lots of farms around.

A little closer to the top. Things got a little rocky. Ky and I were rethinking going to the top.

It's hard to quit when you are so close to the end of the trail. 

Sweet victory to get a picture at the (almost) top.

The hill behind us was the top but it wasn't family friendly climbing to get over there. So we settled for the almost top.

Tenaga Trailhead Hike

Here is another Southern California family friendly hike. We are always looking for quick hikes around  the area. We did so much hiking in San Diego and Orange County when we lived on Camp Pendleton. Riverside County and East San Diego County are new territory for us. The land seems so boring around here. We are finding it's all trial and error when it comes to trails around South Riverside County. Tenaga Trailhead and Falls is one of our latest hikes. This trail is tucked away on the outskirts of Temecula. I can't say the trail is one of our favorites but it was worth a morning to explore. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Not the greatest views but it's a great representation of what the area is like. Lots of desert plants.

Hiking Idyllwild {Devil's Slide Trail}

We finally took our hiking adventures to the mountains. Idyllwild, California in the San Bernadino National Forest. The terrain changes from desert to forest covered granite mountains in a matter of miles. I didn't know such places existed in Southern California. I am in love. I'm hooked. I wanna go back right now.

Best. Hike. Ever.
We made it to Saddle Junction at approximately 7700 feet.
We were all feeling pretty accomplished.

(Thank you, rock, for taking our picture.)

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